Harvard Grad Found Dead on Irkutsk Bridge

An 23-year-old woman believed to be a recent Harvard graduate has been found dead in an apparent suicide in her hometown of Irkutsk.

The woman's body was discovered hanging from a pylon on a bridge to Yunost ("Youth") Island in central Irkutsk on Sunday, investigators said in a statement the following day.

Relatives told investigators the woman had been distraught at her inability to find a job after returning earlier this year from the United States, where she'd lived since she was 8 years old.

Officers at the scene also found her Russian passport and a notebook written in English.

According to the results of an ongoing preliminary investigation, the woman recently graduated from Harvard University and briefly worked in Washington, a spokesman for the regional Investigative Committee said by telephone Tuesday.